Background to the Fellows Program
Young researchers working on IBCSR projects are vital to the future of the scientific study of religion. Their skill set embraces multiple disciplines. They combine the precision of the scientist with the complex awareness of the artist. And they learn to collaborate from the start.
Training students in the IBCSR way produces multi-competent researchers with unusual vision. They pull together ideas and information in novel ways. Insert a seasoned researcher trained with such skills into a room of specialized experts, and the entire group instantly operates more efficiently.
To support such training, IBCSR founded the Lindamood Fellows Program in 2010, with the generous support of the Doug and Gay Lane Foundation and the Lakeside Foundation.
Lindamood Fellows will complete doctoral degrees at affiliated universities while conducting research on projects run through IBCSR. They will receive hands-on experience and valuable training from experts in multiple fields. And they will emerge from their Fellowship ready to make a difference.
Samuel Lindamood
This Fellows Program is named in honor of the Rev. Samuel Johnson Lindamood, Jr. A mentor to one of IBCSR’s founders, he died in 1997, leaving a legacy of influence on generations of individuals. The program is launched with the support of his widow, Ann Lindamood Fischer.
Sam Lindamood was a remarkable man. A pastor and preacher of rare quality, he intuitively grasped the ambiguity of religion. He worked tirelessly to make the benefits of religion real for those he served while carefully resisting its negative aspects. He stood for tolerance and inclusiveness and against bigotry and fanaticism. He was always realistic, always told the truth, and was a superb mentor.
The Lindamood Fellows Program embodies these values and IBCSR is proud to be associated with Sam Lindamood’s legacy through this initiative.
Inaugural Lindamood Fellows, 2010-2011
The first recipients of Lindamood Fellowships are introduced below. More information about each recipient can be found on the IBCSR Personnel page.
Joel Daniels: a PhD student at Boston University, Joel is studying how scientific knowledge about human beings impacts religious beliefs about the meaning of human life. He is Editor of the IBCSR Research Review.
Connor Wood: a PhD student at Boston University, Connor is investigating the biological underpinnings of the healing effects of some meditation practices. Connor is also working on the Spectrums Project.
Nicholas DiDonato: a PhD student at Boston University, Nicholas is working with Connor on the Spectrums Project, a research effort focusing on ideological, moral, and religious spectrums of beliefs and attitudes, identifying the biological and contextual conditions, and determining how they affect teaching, learning, and public discourse.